Pentax half frame SLR?

[pete_su]

Did Pentax ever make a half frame SLR? My wife says that her dad traded one for the

Olympus OM-1 that he had while she was growing up, but I've never been able to find

reference to such a thing. I have seen mention of a Pentax 110 format SLR, but not a

half frame. Does anyone know anything about this?

 

Thanks

[John Farrell]

The only half frame slrs I can think of are the Olympus Pens, and the Konica Auto-Reflex (selectable half or full frame). McKeown doesn't list any half frame Pentaxes.

[._._z]

Pentax did make an interchangeable lens 110 system:

 

http://www.cameraquest.com/pentx110.htm

[dougmiles]

I expect the name similarity of the Olympus Pen F and Pen FT with Pentax has led to some confusion... and the camera in question was surely the Pen, not Pentax. It also ties in that he stayed with Olympus, trading the Pen on the OM-1.

 

Pentax has made SLRs in 4 film formats, but not (to my knowledge) half-frame 35. :-)

[carina]

It might have been a specialty item. I have never seen a Pentax-made one, but Praktica, Zenit, Nikon (I think), etc. made half-frame models (adapted from standard one) for scientific or military or police work. They are not that easy to come by.

[dougmiles]

Digging further, Carina is right... There was a Pentax MF half-frame variant of the ME made for medical imaging, very speialized. See http://www.aohc.it/oddse2.htm

[rdm]

<p>nope Pentax did infact make a Pentax KX Half Frame Camera<br>

<img src="http://bpics.rubylane.com/graphics/shops/christophers/0904-034.1L.jpg?67" alt="" /></p>

[jeff_greenstein]

<p>This very morning I bought what appears to be a one-of-a-kind half-frame Pentax KX at the Pasadena Camera Show. It's got a modified film gate, masked-off viewfinder, regeared film advance, and a handwritten 72-frame insert for the frame counter. Beneath the gate is inscribed "Modified by Klinger." Anyone know anything about this rare beast?</p><div></div>